Authentic Travels with a Heart for Morocco and its People

FROM MARRAKECH TO FEZ VIA DUNES, KASBAHS AND OASIS

Marhaba and welcome to the south - one of the most spectacular Morocco regions!

You cross the overwhelming High Atlas pass Tizi n´Tichka and follow the same road where caravans used to travel centuries ago on their way to Timbuktu.

You will explore the ancient ksar and kasbahs, learn about the clay house architecture of the intertwined villages and drink tea with nomads.

Finally, you arrive to the Sahara desert to try out riding a camel, walk in the dunes and learn how to cook in the sand. The last day will take you to the biggest Moroccan oasis Ziz and then through cedar forests you arrive in Fez once called “the Athens of Africa”.

ITINERARY

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At 9 a.m. your driver and guide will meet you in your hotel in Marrakech and you start the trip to the South. You will pass the fruitful Valley of Ourika and climb the road to the pass Tiz n´Tichka, with 2,260 m the highest pass in Morocco. You pass many beautiful sceneries and Berber villages. Right after Tichka the countryside and architecture change completely – you are in the Moroccan South!

Around lunchtime arrival in Ait Ben Haddou , an old kasbah fortress at the river Ounila which has been listed at UNESCO and become one of the symbols of the Moroccan South.

In afternoon continuation to the Rose Valley – here in a small Berber village at the Mgoun river, far away from any mass tourism you will spend the night. Be ready for a tasty food prepared exclusively from local products and lovely accommodation in a restored old kasbah. The owners work closely with the village community and if you are interested, they will be happy to share a lot from Berber culture with you.

Saying goodbye to the Rose Valley today you will start a real adventure. If the weather is good and dry your driver might take you on an off-road path deep into the surrounding mountains where you will meet with the nomads and finally arrive in the valley of Dades river. The nature of the area is unusual and you will have many opportunities to take truly unique pictures.

Around lunchtime you reach gorge Todgha whose walls are up to 400 meter high. After an easy walk around the gorge your lunch is prepared in a guesthouse in the middle of an ancient Berber village.

Three more hours drive in the afternoon and on horizon you already see another highlight of the tour – the orange coloured sand dunes of Erg Chebbi.

Around 5 p.m. you arrive in Hassilabied a small village at the edge of desert and then you start! On your camel and in caravan led by an experienced cameleer you will walk for about one hour deep into the sand dunes.

The Berber camp itself is located at the edge of the sanddunes and a place you probably imagined when reading One Thousand and One Nights stories. Cheerfully decorated tents equipped with comfortable beds, carpets to sit or lay down directly in the sand and a delicious diner will make this evening to a unique experience. Should there be no wind a campfire will be lightened, and you will have opportunity to practice Berber dances and listen to traditional music performed by your hosts. Before sleeping, don´t forget to look to the sky full of stars. They shine more then in the city and many times you see the milky way too.

Camel ride: 1 - 1,5 h

Driving time: 5 - 6 h

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Day 3: Sand dunes of Erg Chebbi - oasis Ziz (1xB, 1xL, 1xD)

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It is worthy to get up early to observe the sunrise above the dunes. You will eat your breakfast in the camp and start a walk through the amazing sand dunes. You can climb some of the highest dunes in the area. During the day the sand dunes are completely abandoned, and we rarely meet there somebody. After approximately 2 hours you will stop to have a picnic lunch in the middle of the dunes. Your local guide will prepare a traditional desert food – the medfuna, a bread filled with vegetable and baked afterwards in the sand. After lunch you continue walking for a while and you meet your driver at the edge of sand dunes.

You will drive approx. 1,5 h to the oasis Ziz where you spend the night in a guesthouse next to the palmerie.

Walking time: 2 – 3 hours (depending your preferences)

Driving time: 1,5 h

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Day 4: Oasis Ziz – Midelt – Fes (1xB, 1xL)

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Your last day you will start with breakfast and a short walk through the oasis Ziz. You will learn about growing of dates as well as the life in oasis. After you continue driving to Fez. You will make a lunch break in Midelt and short stop in the forests of Azrou a region known for the cedar forests and appearance of magots apes.

Around 5-6 p.m. arriving in Fez

Driving time: 6 h

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Do you have questions to this tour or you want to book? Send us your message here or to our email info@berbertrekking.com

Combine this tour for example with:

Tour to Essaouira and Atlantic Coast

Program and hotel in Marrakech

Program and hotel in Fes

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WHAT TRAVELERS SAY ABOUT OUR SAHARA TOURS

“Our trip with BerberTrekking.com was and stays an unforgetable experience of Morocco. We got a professional service from our guides Tereza and Mohamed and felt safe with our driver Brahim. We experienced real Morocco, got private tour through Marrakech, passed the highest pass in Morocco, visited Ain Ben Haddou, danced with locals in a small village in Rose Valley and explored Merzouga desert. The highlight was the desert, where we spent a night and enjoyed a day-trekk. We had a lot of fun.
Thanks, děkujeme, shukran, tenmirt”